Image Credit: Netflix
After nearly 30 years in development (in various forms and states), renowned animation director Brad Bird’s passion project, Ray Gun, is finally seeing the light of day. Expected to arrive exclusively on Netflix in late 2026, the sci-fi noir spy story will be the third feature film to emerge from the multi-year deal between Netflix and Skydance Animation (after 2024). mesmerized and 2026 cloudy).
Beyond the initial announcement that the new film will be part of the Skydance Animation slate coming to Netflix in 2024, there’s been radio silence on the new film, but plenty of hype. it’s so far. Here’s an update on Ray Gun, including the star-studded voice cast, newly released first-look images, the storyline, the powerhouse creative team, and the film’s long journey to our screens.
What is the story of ray gun?
Ray Gunn is an ambitious sci-fi noir that blends 1930s pulp detective stories with detailed, futuristic world-building based entirely on Earth.
The official synopsis teases:
“In Metropia, a vast city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn is dragged into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star named Venus Nova.”
In this vast retro-futuristic metropolis, humans and aliens live strangely together. When a fanatical private investigator takes on a new murder case, he finds himself embroiled in a massive conspiracy centered on the town’s biggest celebrity.
Various concept arts for ray guns over the years – Source Reddit
Director Brad Bird recently described the film as the ultimate blend of genres in a new statement today. “The ray gun has been on my mind for more than 30 years,” Bird said. “The film is a mix of ’40s sci-fi and classic spy movies… It’s the Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers. I’ve been a fan of both of those genres, and it was fun to mix them together, and get to play with a lot of cinematic elements and extreme characters.”
Who is in the voice cast for ray gun?
Image Credit: Getty Images
Netflix and Skydance Animation have assembled an incredible voice cast to bring the stylish citizens of Metropia to life:
- Sam Rockwell (Argyll, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, missouri) leads the cast as the title raymond gunnA gritty human gumshoe uncovers a treacherous, alien-filled mystery.
- Scarlett Johansson (black mother, His) voices venus novaA mysterious multimedia star caught up in the investigation of Gunn’s murder.
- tom waits (buster scruggs song, Seven Psychopaths) joins the cast in an undisclosed role, and brings his distinctive gritty voice to the neo-noir world.
More cast announcements are expected as we get closer to the 2026 release.
Speaking on her involvement in the film, Scarlett Johansson praised the director’s vision: “The opportunity to collaborate with Brad Bird is a career milestone for me; I’ve loved his work my entire life. This project is so special because it is such a perfect realization of where Brad is currently at on his artistic journey. I can’t wait for audiences to see this extraordinary animation that doesn’t look like anything else.”
Image Credit: Netflix
The inclusion of Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell was actually leaked late last year. News of his casting was originally leaked from a test screening in late 2025. It was not widely reported at the time, although Nerdspin spotted this And confirmation was even received from one of the project’s animators before Netflix officially announced the trio of Rockwell, Johansson, and Waits.
Who is behind the film?
Ray Gunn Directed by two-time Academy Award winner brad birdThe visionary filmmakers behind beloved animated classics like iron giant, IncredibleAnd Ratatouille. Bird also developed the original story and co-wrote the screenplay. Matthew Robbins (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Crimson Peak).
The film has a huge, top-tier creative team behind the scenes:
- producers: John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Lisa Beraud, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg (producers for Skydance Animation), with Connie Nartanis Thompson, Hannah Minghella, Alex Schwartz, and Karen Rupert Tolliver.
- musician:Oscar winning composer Michael Giacchino (Up, The Incredibles, The Batman) reunites with Bird to provide the score.
- costume design: Nessa Bow (Moana, Encanto, and Raya and the Last Dragon).
- Editor: Darren T. Holmes and Carl Armstrong.
- visual effects: Adele Abada, James Rothwell, Joshua Herrig, and Julia Spurek.
- casting: Odin Eriksson, Jason Henkel, Daniel Morozin, and Espen Ramsdell.
- additional guidance: Yarrow Cheney (The Secret Life of Pets).
- Assistant Director: CJ Hsu.
- set decorations: Jeff Wagner.
Image Credit: Netflix
30 years journey of netflix
Ray Gunn The ultimate passion project. Brad Bird and Matthew Robbins originally wrote the script in 1996. The film was then developed at Turner Animation (Warner Brothers). For decades, it was conceived as a 2D hand-drawn animated film, but struggled to find a studio willing to support its ambitious scale and slightly more mature tone. versions of those Earlier scripts are available online.
The project was eventually revived at Skydance Animation under the leadership of John Lasseter. Originally set to air on Apple TV+, the sprawling sci-fi epic – which reportedly had a budget of over $150 million – found a new home when Skydance signed a multi-year overall deal with Netflix. Netflix took over the studio’s upcoming slate, and the film was eventually transformed from its original 2D roots into a cutting-edge CG animated feature. Cinesite has also been Cited to assist at facility.
For Bird, the ray gun is an opportunity to push the boundaries of the medium. “There’s a huge segment of people who don’t watch animation,” Bird said in a recent press release. “This is a group I’m eager to celebrate because it’s an amazing art form that is so limited in people’s minds. Animation as a medium is so interesting in terms of what kind of stories can be told.”
While there have been whispers of internal creative shifts in the industry and a turbulent production cycle at Skydance, animation fans are incredibly eager to see Bird’s uncompromising vision finally come to fruition.
When will Ray Gun release on Netflix?
Netflix hasn’t announced an exact release date yet, but with a new batch of “first look” images, the streamer has officially confirmed that Ray Gunn is set for one 2026 Given the premiere (expected in late 2026), and the potential and ambition of the title, we can probably expect a big festival premiere.
This is all we have for now Ray Gunn – What do you think? Are you excited for Brad Bird’s new movie? Let us know in the comments.
